Thinking of earning on survey sites? All your questions answered!

Survey sites can be a great way to boost your income but many people have doubts before they start.

I’m going to try and address some of the most commonly asked questions in this post.

Aren’t they all a scam?

Every so often I’ll come across a site or app that looks like a scam. They’re usually pretty easy to recognise. However, I use several sites on a daily basis, cashed out hundreds of pounds and never had a problem.

As long as you’re careful and only use sites that have been recommended by others, and/or have good reviews, you’ll be fine.

These are some warning signs of scams:

People/sites who promise you that you can make hundreds with little to no effort.

You can definitely make £50+ a week, I’ve done it, but only if you work hard at it.

When someone asks you to make an investment.

Most of the time, when someone says that you’ll get x amount in return for y investment, it’s a scam. They’ll take your money and run.

When someone says they’ll pay you to use your details.

This is fraud! Never allow anyone else to use any of your information no matter how much they say they’ll pay you.

When something sounds too good to be true, it usually is.

Will I get loads of junk mail, cold callers, spam etc?

This is a risk. It’s a risk with anything you do online.

However, you can reduce the risk by being careful.

Use a different email address for all these sites and offers (gmail is recommended) than your regular email.

Don’t give out your home address and phone number unless you trust the site. Most sites won’t sell your address or phone number on as they require them for verification. However, some offers you find on the sites may ask for this info and then sell it on. If you’re careful and don’t give your details to these companies you shouldn’t have a problem.

You can set up a free service to give you a number to use for offers that require one. It won’t work with all offers but could help with some. An example is “Text App”.

Do I have to lay out any money?

No!

Some of the sites have offers you can complete which offer cashback, for example, pay £1 and receive £2 back. You are NEVER required to do these offers, it’s your choice.

You can earn without spending a single penny!

Some offers will give you cashback for free trials. These can be a great way to earn but you have to keep on top of your calendar to ensure you cancel before they take a payment. As ever, if you’re careful, you shouldn’t have any trouble.

How much time do you spend on it each day?

I tend to spend less than an hour of active time a day over all the sites I use. I tend to try and hit my daily goal on Swagbucks, then keep my browser open and do studies on Prolific if I like the sound of them. I dip in and out of the other sites depending on my mood and energy levels.

I also run videos etc (mostly on instaGC but also on Swagbucks and other sites) which are considered passive income as they only require a click or two every so often, rather than needing to be actively involved with the site all the time.

Can you really earn money on these sites?

In the group that I admin I see many people making over £100 a month. I haven’t had a single month since my first full month on the sites where I’ve earned less than £100 and most months I earn more like £3-400, so yes, you can definitely make money.

How much you make is up to you. It depends on whether you persevere, the sites you use, the time you spend etc.

On desktop or on the apps? Desktop watch should show a counter that tells you how many more videos you need to watch. On the mobile apps (on iOS) the counter was removed. Instead, you see a bar that fills a bit more after each video you watch. The video apps on iOS should credit 2sb after around 15 videos and you’ll see a screen that says Congrats. SB amounts will show in your ledger.

Most sites pay in a variety of vouchers (Amazon, MasterCard, various stores, etc) or PayPal. If you cash out to PayPal the only info you give is your email address, same as you would to anyone paying you to PayPal. Vouchers are sent to your email and you then use them how you wish.